Naruto: Empath (Part One)
by ARandomDragon
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki's eyes have darkened. His mind is clouded by the hatred of those around him and all he wants is peace of mind. He must remain strong for the sake of the village or else the consequences will be dire. He must master this new ability of his for the safety of everyone, failure is not an option. After all, Naruto Uzumaki never gives up...right?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone, ARandomDragon here and welcome to my first story on the site. Now, I've been an avid fan of Naruto for a fair few years now and I've always had a fascination with What-ifs. So I decided, Why not try my hand at fanfiction? Seems fun enough so here we are.  
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 **Naruto: Empath is a story that has been floating around my mind for a while now (about a week to be exact) and the question it poses is very simple. What changes would the story take if Naruto actually posessed the ability to feel the emotions of others. Now, I didn't want to be bland and obvious and so I added a few twists to that ability (which you will see as the story progresses).**

 **Now, let's get a few things out of the way.**

 **If you came here for a story about an OP godlike Naruto or giant harems then unfortunately you've come to the wrong place. I've chosen the M-Rating for this story mainly because of language and because I want to have the option to delve into darker subject matter without fear. That said, While the beginning of the story will have a great deal of angst I will slowly take it down to a more manageable level as the tale progresses. Also, updates should happen pretty frequently (fingers crossed, student life sucks) but they won't be completely consistent (Though I will probably update once a week give or take a day). Other than that.. Yeah, Enjoy the story and leave feedback!**

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 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, that's Kishimoto's thing.**

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Naruto Uzumaki lay on the ground defeated. Stood above him with a smug look on his face was the pride, joy and resident genius of the village; Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto looked at the Uchiha with a blank look as the smug boy put a kunai to his neck.

"Surrender." Sasuke said with a smug smirk as he stood victorious over his rival. Not that he had lost any time prior to this mind you, Their rivalry had always been extremely one sided and Naruto was always on the losing side.

"I surrender." Naruto replied, staring at Sasuke with a thousand yard stare.

Iruka Umino, the chunin in charge of this training exercise cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention. "Alright, This taijutsu match is over; Sasuke wins."

The all genin audience watching the match (Especially all of the fangirls) cheered loudly for Sasuke who merely 'Hn'-ed before heading towards a shady tree to lean against in order to begin his favourite activity; Brooding. The fangirls all rushed towards Sasuke like he was made of gold in order to ask him out (Or whatever else fangirls did as they stalked their idol).

While almost everyone's attention was focused solely on Sasuke however, Naruto simply stood up and headed to the other side of the academy training ground away from everyone else.

Iruka however looked at Naruto with sadness in his eyes. The boy had become so different and distant to everyone in such a short time, His blue eyes that once glowed with mischief and energy were now an empty hollow void. Naruto had been the most troublesome student of his class until a few weeks ago, Back before then the boy would seemingly pounce on every opportunity he got to annoy the crap out of him or the rest of the academy with his over the top pranks and his loud and confident declarations about how he would 'Become the best Hokage'. Although Iruka would never have never admitted it out loud but the boy had gradually grown on him, loud mouth and all. In a way he had begun to look at Naruto like an annoying but lovable little brother.

Still, Iruka would have given anything to make the boy settle down just a tiny bit and actually focus on his studies but now... Iruka wanted that blonde ball of energy and those sparkling blue eyes back more than anything in his life.

With a sigh Iruka jotted down a few notes on his clipboard while the bell signifying the end of class rang out. As the class began to busily file out of the ground; Iruka gathered his resolve before heading towards the blond boy who trailed behind everyone else. "Naruto, Would you please come with me? I want to speak with you about a few things." he said before awaiting a response. He didn't have to wait long however as the boy nodded and together the student and pupil headed back into the academy.

Iruka was going to get to the bottom of this today no matter what happened.

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Iruka motioned for Naruto to sit as he closed the door to the office behind him. The office itself wasn't anything special, A wooden desk stood across the door with a standard desk chair behind along with two comfy chairs in the font of the desk for any visitors; Besides that, There were a few filling cabinets along the walls and a picture of the previous batch of genin adorned the wall above the cabinets.

Iruka took off his chunin vest before hanging it on his chair and sat down face to face with Naruto who stared at the ground blankly, his blond hair falling over his dark eyes. The two sat in a somewhat tense silence for a few moments as Iruka thought about the best way to tackle the problem in front of him. After a while the chunin spoke up. "Naruto... I'm going to ask you a simple question." He said before pausing.

"Do you trust me?" The man asked.

After a few moments the blond boy nodded in affirmative.

"Alright then Naruto... I want you to know that I'm asking this not as your teacher but... as a friend." Iruka said slowly while looking at his young friend. The boy didn't respond however and Iruka briefly considered repeating himself but then decided against it and continued. He didn't want to antagonize Naruto or talk to him like he was mentally challenged or something. Right now, He needed his student's cooperation.

"Naruto... for the past two weeks you have been acting very... unusually." Iruka stated. Once again it seemed as if the boy in front of him was a mannequin or something as he sat still without the slightest trace of... anything, on his face. His eyes still staring at the ground. Iruka had to admit that looking at him while he was like this was a bit unsettling to say the least.

"Granted, I do understand that you may still be a bit shook up after the Mizuki incident-" Iruka stopped abruptly as he saw a flash of brief... something... appear on Naruto's face, However; the look of emotion was gone as soon as it had appeared.

Iruka sighed " _so this is about Mizuki..._ " he thought as he subconsciously clenched his fists underneath the desk while he recalled the incident. There wasn't a whole lot to it actually, Mizuki had tricked Naruto into thinking that there was a way he could 'skip' academy and become a ninja early by passing a special test. This test however; was just a ruse, a fabrication Mizuki had created in order to kill two birds with one stone. That traitor had told Naruto that he would need to steal a secret scroll from the Hokage residence and deliver it to him to earn his headband. Of course, Naruto; being the most knuckleheaded ninja of the class, trusted Mizuki and went along with his plan.

After Naruto had somehow stolen the scroll (Iruka still couldn't fathom how a clumsy genin like Naruto had accomplished that under the noses of both the Hokage and his elite ANBU) Mizuki had tricked him and told him the truth about what had happened when the Kyuubi had attacked the village. He had told the boy about his burden as the container of the Kyuubi... No, He had told Naruto that he WAS the Kyuubi. The bastard would have also killed Naruto had Iruka not shown up sooner. While he had assured Naruto that he wasn't the Kyuubi but rather its container, the boy's eyes had already gained this hollow look that he still wore even now. Not only that but Naruto had grown incredibly quiet and detached since then, Disturbingly so.

" _Damn it! Why couldn't I have caught on to Mizuki earlier? Why couldn't I have arrived to save Naruto before that bastard had said a word?_ " Iruka thought as he continued to mentally curse his lack of ability.

"Iruka sensei... please don't blame yourself..."

" _What?_ " Iruka thought as he returned to reality. He saw that Naruto was staring at him, his eyes were still hollow and detached but for the first time it actually looked like the boy was looking at him and not through him. Iruka found himself a bit uneasy looking into the lifeless eyes of the boy in front of him. These eyes didn't belong to a child, They belonged to someone who had no hope left in their life.

"Please... I don't want you to keep blaming yourself for that..." Naruto said in a voice that was incredibly weak and small for him.

Iruka looked at Naruto in surprise. What?... "Wha- Naruto, What a-are you talking about." He sputtered out. How the hell did Naruto figure that out? Had he really been wearing his emotions on his sleeve like that? It was unfitting for a ninja.

For the first time in what seemed like decades a smile appeared on Naruto's face. It was a ghostly, pale imitation for his normal bright grin but it was still present. "Iruka sensei... I felt it... I felt your anger and sadness." He said.

"Felt... my anger? What are you talking about Naruto? I'm not angry at you." Iruka said with confusion. What the hell was going on?

"No, I know you weren't angry at me... I just felt that you were angry and sad at something, I guess you were thinking about Mizuki after all." Naruto stated.

"Felt?... Naruto, You can't... feel the emotions of someone else... that's impossible." Iruka rationalized. What on earth was the boy going on about? He wasn't making any sense at all. Was he feeling all right?

"I know sensei... that's the most terrifying thing about it... It feels wrong." Naruto said in a hollow voice.

Iruka looked at the boy in surprise. What on earth was going on? What was he saying? Iruka knew that Naruto wasn't a liar, A prankster sure but not a liar; This wasn't Naruto's style of prank anyway. Naruto's pranks were always quick and brutal, They were never slow or deliberate. Besides, This was way too elaborate for a prank and it didn't have any humor in it either.

"I know it's hard to believe sensei... but it's true. If you want I can prove it too." Naruto assured in that same monotonous tone.

"Alright then... I want you to tell me what I'm feeling... okay Naruto?" Iruka asked in a resigned tone, playing along with Naruto's claim. There was no point pussyfooting around the problem, obviously Naruto's recent behavior had been caused by this 'empathy' or whatever Naruto thought he was feeling. Iruka felt a twinge of worry, Had the knowledge about the Kyuubi actually affected his mind? Was.. was the boy losing his sanity?

Iruka pushed that thought out of his mind and decided to play along with Naruto. He thought about the saddest moment in his life first, The moment when he had realised that his parents had died in the Kyuubi attack; He let that feeling of sorrow wash over him while making sure that his face stayed as still as a mask. Then, He thought about the most anger he had felt, That had happened with Mizuki.

After that he thought about the most stress he had felt, That once again circled around to being alone in the Kyuubi's attack. That was probably the single most terrifying moment of his life. After that he thought about the most embarrasing moment of his life and well... He didn't have to think too deeply to feel the need to curl up in a ball and implode.

After a few moments Naruto spoke up." You felt worried first, then really sad, After that you felt very angry and after that it seemed like you felt extremely afraid and stressed out and then... Embarrasment, lots of it." Naruto replied.

Iruka gaped at Naruto. He had predicted everything! Every shift in his emotion! How? What the hell was going on? He needed to tell Hokage-sama about this!

Before Iruka could make a move however, Naruto spoke up." Iruka sensei stop panicking... I already told Jiji about this... he told me that he had heard that the First Hokage's wife; Mito-sama, Had also awakened this ability after she became the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi... He told me that... I'd have to get used to this." Naruto explained while looking down.

Iruka stared at Naruto for a few moments, His mind completely blank and still reeling from this new discovery. Everything clicked into place in front of his eyes. That was the reason why Naruto had been acting so weirdly all of a sudden! He had awakened a Kekkei Genkai and he didn't know how to deal with it!

Iruka breathed out a sigh of relief, He'd thought that the Kyuubi was somehow affecting the boy's mind or something but thankfully he'd been proven wrong. It was still a bit freaky to realize that Naruto had predicted his state of mind and intent to rush to the hokage. Being caught off guard like that felt a bit weird but he quickly let that thought go. He needed to ask Naruto more questions! He needed to know more about this ability!

"Well then, that's good isn't it Naruto?... I mean you now have a cool new jutsu that no one else has and-" Iruka stopped abruptly as he saw something shocking.

Naruto was crying. His sobs were quiet but tears flowed freely from his eyes.

Iruka glided out of his chair in one move as all questions he had faded away into the back of his mind and he swept up his surrogate little brother into a hug. Right now, nothing else mattered. Naruto was alone and he needed him. In all of the time he had known the boy he had realized that Naruto never cried. No matter what happened he always remained strong.

Whatever Naruto was feeling right now was more terrifying or painful to him than all of the hatred the villagers had put on him. He had never cried once even as the villagers glared at him in the streets and attacked him in their drunken stupor. It was even worse than the attempt Mizuki had made on his life. He headn't even broken down during that. For him to be crying right now... It meant that this problem was far greater than anything Iruka had imagined and he had just scratched the surface of it.

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 **Boom, So there's chapter 1. Hope you guys and gals enjoy. Please make sure to leave reviews and let me know what you think of my style and also favorite the story of you like it. Other than that, I'll see y'all later. Bye.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Everyone, here's the second chapter of this story. I'm sorry for the slow pacing of the story, unfortunately the subject of this story deals with emotion and the only way to convey detailed emotions through writing is well... to detail the writing! This obviously leads to longer chapters and slower pacing. Sorry if you were expecting this chapter to be action packed.**

 **Oh, and thanks to TheRoadToHell666 for pointing out the fact that I called the crowd of Academy Students a crowd of Genin in the previous chapter. I was half tempted to go and correct it but then decided against it. Why? because I don't want to deny myself the glorious (and cringey) experience that is reading your own work once you have better writing skills.**

 **So, if I find any mistakes like that in the future I'll post them in the next chapter like this. Also, I've also tried to improve the gramarr and sentence structure a bit, I don't know if I've succeeded or not but feel free to let me know. Anyways, that's enough of my ramblings. Enjoy the story!**

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 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did then I probably wouldn't waste my time writing fanfiction and prowling around on the internet.**

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Iruka turned off the still quiet alarm on his bedside table as he stood up. It was currently five in the morning on a Saturday. Right now, He would normally be sleeping like a bear during winter but today... his mind just refused to let the sweet embrace of sleep whisk his problems away. His mind replayed played back yesterday's events (For what seemed like the thousandth time) while he tried in vain to answer the endless questions that continuously popped up in his head. The subject of these questions being none other than the demon child of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki.

Iruka brewed up his coffee while the questions kept looping in his mind. Why did Naruto break down when asked about his new ability? Why was his Kekkei Genkai affecting his personality? When and why exactly did Naruto suddenly awaken a bloodline ability anyway? Which clan possessed the ability to sense emotions? Also, What were the limits of his powers? Did he only specifically detect emotions or could he read the general mental state of someone as well?

Iruka took a sip of his coffee while sitting down on a dining chair. His mind began to wander as he thought about another person who had taken residence in his thoughts, Hokage-sama. Naruto had mentioned that he'd told Hokage-sama about his ability but he hadn't told him what Hokage-sama's reaction to this news was. Had he even taken Naruto seriously? Or had he chalked it up to some sort of a prank like Iruka had almost done so himself? These were thoughts that kept pestering the academy instructor like a horde of mosquitoes while he prepared himself for the beginning of the day.

Over the last few weeks Iruka had come to the realization that he cared about Naruto far more than he had thought. When he had seen Mizuki towering over the terrified boy his blood had run cold. He now realized that somewhere along the line he had begun thinking of Naruto as a younger brother. That was the reason why his mind had entered panic mode ever since he had seen the blonde cry. While he had handled yesterday's situation flawlessly and supported Naruto when he'd needed him the most, He had only alleviated the symptoms. The problem was still there. Naruto was hurting and he needed help urgently and right now the only person that could possibly help him was Hokage-sama. After all, the man was called 'The Professor' for a reason. If anyone could help Naruto with his Kekkei Genkai it would be the Hokage.

Eventually, after a lot of thinking Iruka got sick of his hyperactive and stressed thoughts and finally came to a conclusion: He needed to go talk to Hokage-sama right now. He needed to know if he had found some way to help Naruto.

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Iruka briskly moved through the mostly empty Hokage building while ignoring the looks and stares he was getting. It was still early in the morning, 7:00 am to be exact and there weren't a whole lot of people in the building however Iruka knew for a fact that Hokage-sama would be available. He may have been old but the man was punctual to a Tee. Besides, He couldn't wait for a more appropriate time. He was a man on a mission, A self assigned mission sure; but an important one nonetheless. Naruto was depending on him.

It wasn't long before the chunin soon found himself standing in front of the Hokage's office. Iruka gave a sharp knock on the door and received a weary 'Enter' from the inside; an order he was more than willing to follow.

"Hokage-sama " Iruka greeted in a professional tone. He narrowed his eyes however as he stared down at his superior who sat in his comfy chair with a smoking pipe in his mouth. While Iruka was a loyal Konoha shinobi, He still couldn't help but feel a spike of anger at the sight of the old man relaxing without a care in the world. He knew that Hiruzen had already talked to Naruto and he already knew about his Kekkei Genkai. In fact, he probably knew more about it than even Iruka himself did. So why exactly was he acting so calm? Did he not care about Naruto?

Hiruzen ordered his ANBU to leave the room with a wave. In an instant a number of ANBU burst out of what were seemingly shadows and filed out of the room which was promptly sealed by Hiruzen with a single hand sign. "Iruka, please sit." The Hokage said while he motioned to the chairs in front of him.

"I'd like to stand instead." Iruka said in a slightly cold tone while he crossed his arms over his chest. This wasn't some sort of social call. He was here for answers.

"Alright then, as you wish. Now, What can I help you with?" Hiruzen asked.

"I'm here because of Naruto. He told me about his new ability yesterday, Hokage-sama." Iruka declared.

"Did he now... how interesting." Hiruzen stated in a curious tone as he sat up in his chair a bit straighter than before.

A slightly awkward silence reigned for a few moments while neither man spoke. That is until Iruka began to speak again.

"Yes... I believe you may have also realized in your wisdom that Naruto is extremely distressed about this new discovery." Iruka said in a strained tone. Usually he did his best to be as professional as possible in front of Hiruzen and he always referred to the old Hokage with respect; but right now, he was in no mood for that. He needed answers and he needed explanations, consequences be damned.

Hiruzen released a weary sigh before speaking. "I know that you are angry at me Iruka, you believe that I am ignoring Naruto's plight. I don't blame you for thinking that way considering that it has been two long weeks since he has awakened this ability but I assure you; I have the village's top minds working on measures to help him as we speak. It has been an eternity since someone with Naruto's unique gift has been seen in the village. We are working with limited intel and a lot of unknown variables here. Still we are doing our best." Hiruzen said in a steady tone.

Iruka released a tired sigh in relief. It felt as if a weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. He had been worried that the Hokage had waved off Naruto's concerns but that didn't seem to be the case.

"And what have you managed to find out so far? If you don't mind me asking that is..." Iruka asked in a much more subdued and calm tone. Hokage-sama was tackling Naruto's problem seriously. Help was on the way.

Hiruzen put away his pipe before speaking."We have already done a number of tests on Naruto. Hiashi has already observed at the boy with his Byakugan but has found no abnormalities in his chakra flow. Inoichi has also scanned the boy's mind but hasn't detected anything unusual either. I'm sorry Iruka but... Naruto's new ability is extremely elusive and mysterious, It is going to take quite some time before we figure out a way to help him. " he said.

Iruka's expression morphed into mixture of anger and shock. "So you're telling me that you still don't know what's wrong with him? You're still on square one?" he asked in an exasperated tone.

"Don't take that tone with me, Iruka." Hiruzen said with a stony expression.

Iruka immediately silenced himself and reigned in his emotions. He was a ninja, he needed to always be in control of his emotions; especially now, when he was in front of the Hokage.

Hiruzen's expression softened as he spoke once again. "Iruka, I know that you're worried about Naruto but you need to be patient. Like I said, we don't have a lot of intel about Naruto's Kekkei Genkai because it is an esoteric ability only seen once in the entire history of Konohagakure. It's only user was Mito Uzumaki, Shodaime-sama's wife. We are working with next to no information here because Mito-sama wasn't the most approachable person and being the wife of the Hokage meant that she was far higher ranking than any other ninja of the village aside from the Shodaime himself. Her ability was left mostly undocumented because of that. In fact, at this stage I'd say we have more information about the legendary Mokuton than whatever Kekkei Genkai Mito-sama possessed. I'm sorry Iruka but Naruto is going to have demonstrate patience until we figure out something more concrete than old legends." he said.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair with a smile." Besides its not like we're strapped for time here. According to Hiashi and Inoichi the background checks are all clear so there's nothing to worry about." He said in an effort to calm Iruka down.

"Hokage-sama... When Naruto was telling me about his ability yesterday... He broke down into tears." Iruka said seriously. His voice barely a whisper.

If Hiruzen was expecting a response that was certainly not what he had in mind as the old man's eyes widened in shock. To an outsider, It might have seemed like an overreaction. After all... It was fairly normal for a child to beg or cry, right? That was the case for most childeren sure, but Naruto was not an average child. Both Iruka and Hiruzen had known Naruto for years now and there was one quality Naruto possessed that always shone through his personality... that one quality is what seperated him from everyone else. That quality of course being: His will to never give up.

Naruto crying was different than any other child crying because unlike other children Naruto always pushed through his problems with an iron will. Naruto had been saddled with the burden of carrying the Kyuubi and facing the hatred of the entire village. Most children... No, most lesser men would have broken under that weight. Yet, Naruto had carried that burden without a single tear. Him crying right now meant that he was at the end of his limit. Something about his Kekkei Genkai had pushed him to the absolute breaking point.

Hiruzen got out of his shock and pulled out a scroll form one of his desk drawers along with a pen. With smooth yet quick strokes the man quickly wrote something in the scroll in a code that Iruka couldn't read. After he was done writing he quickly rolled it up and formed a hand sign causing the roll to glow red before returning to normal.

Hiruzen spoke up, his tone a lot more serious than before. "Iruka, it seems that I've underestimated the severity of the situation at hand. For that I apologize but we must act quickly. I'm going to need your help." He explained.

Iruka looked at the Hokage with surprise but nodded nonetheless. He had never seen the old Hokage move so quickly or speak with such authority before.

Hiruzen looked at Iruka with a serious expression. "Good... I don't know if he told you this Iruka but I ordered Naruto explicitly NOT to tell anyone about his ability as I feared that an enemy might use it to their advantage. Yet, despite my warnings he didn't lie to you. Do you know why that is?" he asked.

Iruka's eyes widened in shock. Hokage-sama had ordered Naruto to keep quiet? He... hadn't known. Naruto hadn't even tried to hide the truth back then. He had answered all of his questions with complete honesty, in fact... Naruto was the one who had brought up the Kekkei Genkai in the first place.

"No Hokage-sama, I don't know." Iruka replied.

Hiruzen cracked a small smile. "Naruto came to you Iruka because he trusts you. He trusts you even more than he trusts me. That's good, We're going to need that trust now more than ever." he stated before pausing for a moment as he thought about something.

Hiruzen spoke up again."It seems that Naruto's new ability is having a negative impact on his mental state. Iruka, I want you to find out exactly why that is and report back to me. Aside from that, I also want you to keep a close eye on Naruto and support him physically or emotionally depending upon his needs. I will be too busy leading the village along with Inoichi and Hiashi's investigations or else I'd help out as well. Naruto is in a dark place right now and he needs your support Iruka. It doesn't matter what you do, I just want the boy to be as happy as he can under the situation and the only one who can understand him right now is you." he stated in a partly rushed tone.

"Right... Hokage-sama." Iruka said. As he looked at the old Hokage who suddenly looked a lot older and wearier than before.

"Good. Then we have nothing more to speak about for now, just get me that report as soon as you can. Dismissed." Hiruzen stated as he unsealed the room. Iruka's eyes lingered on the old man for a few moments before he gave the Hokage a nod and headed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

After the door closed Hiruzen let his shoulders droop and released a weary sigh. With that, he picked up the scroll and stood up before heading out. Normally he would have asked a secretary to take the scroll to the Department Of Communications but this scroll was far too crucial for that. He needed to do this himself. The contents of the scroll were very simple but important. The scroll contained a message for Jiraiya. A message telling him to haul his ass back to the village as quickly as possible.

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 **Well, Here's chapter two. Hope y'all enjoyed and as always reviews and favourites are appreciated. Anyways, I'll see ya'll later. Bye.  
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